Tivo Roamio or Tivo Roamio OTA

[glen4cindy]

Hello,

Trying to finalize our decision to cut DirecTv and decide between these two units. I've discovered that an indoor antenna works well for all of my channels. I've been able to watch trouble here.

I'm having trouble trying to figure out just what the difference between these 2 units is other than $150.

TiVo Roamio OTA:

• Designed for users who watch TV with an HD antenna instead of subscribing to cable. Works with all digital HD antennas. Enjoy network shows from ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, Univision and more
• Record four shows at once and up to 75 HD hours of programming
• Access TV and streaming content from Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu Plus, VUDU and more without switching inputs
• See 14-day program guide and schedule recordings ahead of time
• Requires TiVo service subscription - $14.99/month. 1-year subscription commitment to activate. HD antenna sold separately.

TiVo Roamio:

• Record 4 shows at once (4 tuners)
• Up to 75 HD / 500 SD hours recording capacity (500GB)
• Works with digital cable, Verizon FIOS or HD antenna
• Access TV and streaming content from Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu Plus, VUDU and more without switching inputs
• Requires subscription to the TiVo service - as low as $12.50/month with annual plan

They seem virtually the same. The TiVo subscription price seems a little different, but, other than that, I can't find it.

Thanks in advance.

 

[osu1991]

The Roamio Basic will work with Cable or OTA and has a cable card chassis. The Roamio OTA is for OTA only and doesn't have the cable card chassis. Other than that, they are identical.


edit: I have 3 of the Roamio Basic's and 1 Roamio OTA all with Lifetime Service on them. They're very nice dvr's, you can easily change the hard drive out to a larger one and the Roamio will format it and run through setup again and be good to go. I upgraded the drives in all of mine from the stock 500gb. I have Western Digital WD30EURX 3TB AVGP drives in 2 of mine and WD20EURX 2TB AVGP drives in the other 2.

 

[Mr Tony]

as someone who has had both osu nailed it. The only 2 differences are
-the basic has the cable card slot in it. The OTA has it removed (that was the reason I needed to upgrade)
-the basic can get lifetime at the get-go. The OTA only pricing is the monthly. Now there have been some deals with lifetime on the OTA but they are getting further and further away

Otherwise they are literally the same unit with the same guts. When you boot up the OTA it even gives you the option of setting up for cable or antenna.

 

[Mr Tony]

I upgraded the drives in all of mine from the stock 500gb. I have Western Digital WD30EURX 3TB AVGP drives in 2 of mine and WD20EURX 2TB AVGP drives in the other 2.

I should do that to mine one of these days. Maybe check prices to see the better deal

 

[osu1991]

I should do that to mine one of these days. Maybe check prices to see the better deal

Well worth it, as I would save and binge watch most series during the fall when football is on most of the week. The Roamio in our Condo in Vegas is on lifeline cable for the locals, but the others are all OTA. The 500gb was getting 50-60% full some weeks if I had 3 episodes saved of 3 or 4 different series. I got my drives from Amazon, $107 for the 3TB and got around 450hrs of HD space and something like 4500hrs of SD space. $85 for the 2TB and that got me to around 320hrs of HD space and 2200hrs of SD space.

 

[Mr Tony]

I'll probably grab a 2TB drive. That should be plenty

 

[jayn_j]

I can get up to about 20% full on my 2 TB drive when I ignore it and the kids pile on shows. Never have gone above that, but you might if you archive series on the hD.

 

[king3pj]

Only get the OTA if you are positive you will never want to throw a CableCard in there. I went with the basic Roamio and used it with OTA only for about a year and a half. Then my cable company offered me a bundle that is similar to DIsh AT 250 plus HBO, Cinemax, and Showtime for $40 more than I was paying for internet alone.

In my area cable doesn't require a contract so it's really nice to know that I can easily switch between a cable subscription and OTA only at any time if they raise their prices or I'm unhappy with the service. You don't even have to give up your recordings when you switch from cable to OTA.

I really like that a single $2 CableCard is the only monthly equipment fee required to get HD and my full cable package in multiple rooms on my Roamio and Tivo Mini.

I think the basic model is worth the extra money over the OTA model even if you don't plan to get cable right now just for the flexibility it offers. I don't really need cable anymore between streaming and OTA but when it's this cheap and includes this many channels I'm willing to pay for it. I don't see myself ever going back to satellite at this point. That would require me to go back to ridiculous TV contracts and expensive monthly equipment fees.

Edit: I also replaced the 500GB drive in my basic Roamio with a 2TB WD drive.

 

[glen4cindy]

Thanks for all the advice.

I really do not see going to cable. And a $150 price difference just for that option, I'm not sure.....

It is something to think about however.


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[boba]

Thanks for all the advice.

I really do not see going to cable. And a $150 price difference just for that option, I'm not sure.....

It is something to think about however.


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Do some shopping around when I bought my Roamio with lifetime I was given my choice of basic or OTA for the same price directly from Tivo.

 

[glen4cindy]

I do not even see those on the website now.......


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[osu1991]

I do not even see those on the website now.......


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The Roamio basic and OTA were replaced by the Bolt around Thanksgiving. Tivo changed the pricing model then to make lifetime service undesirable. The Bolt will do both cable or OTA and is normally $300 which is $150 for the dvr and $150 for 1 year of service. After 1 year you will have to pay monthly or annually for service.

Ebay would be best place to find a Roamio with Lifetime service. Occasionally Amazon will have the Roamio OTA for $300 which includes lifetime service, but that is becoming rare as stock has dwindled.

Woot occasionally will have clearance on Roamios. I picked up an extra Roamio OTA from woot for $25 last month. An extra remote was worth the $25.

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[navychop]

I just wish we had some kind of timeline on ATSC 3. I'll bet it's at least 5 years away and wouldn't be surprised if it were 10.

There's a LOT of equipment out there that will be obsolete when it happens, and could kill OTA if not done with plenty of warning and years of selling devices with ATSC 3 built in, before any station goes live with ATSC 3.

Hmmm- "kill OTA..." If the cell companies lobby enough, maybe it will happen Real Soon Now....

 

[jayn_j]

I echo king3pj. I thought I was OTA forever, but TWC offered me basic cable for free when I upped the bandwidth of my internet.

 

[Mr Tony]

another option that hasn't been mentioned is the Series 3. Now it only has two tuners (instead of 4) and not much streaming options (does have Netflix) that is another option and can be had pretty inexpensive with lifetime (125-150 bucks or even less)

Make sure it has Lifetime as Tivo wont activate them anymore.

 

[Mr Tony]

I guess it depends on how much Glen would record and how many possible conflicts there would be.
If you use the Tivo to watch TV (like I had to when I had it set up for Comcast) there were times I needed more than two tuners (even if it was for 1/2 hour). I know how frustrating it can be watching a show and all of a sudden you see the popup of "we need to change the channel on this tuner to record ______" because you were already recording something.

 

[Ronnie-]

another option that hasn't been mentioned is the Series 3. Now it only has two tuners (instead of 4) and not much streaming options (does have Netflix) that is another option and can be had pretty inexpensive with lifetime (125-150 bucks or even less)

Make sure it has Lifetime as Tivo wont activate them anymore.

After seeing you mention this in another thread while doing research I got one off of ebay with lifetime for about $140 shipped. Like you said, if you do this, make sure it has lifetime or they wont activate it.

I currently have the series 3 and one Roamio OTA going, and a tuner on my xbox one which allows a thirty minute pause and ffw/rw function (all i need at that location). Dish service is unhooked, and am mostly happy with it.

The Tivos are great boxes, I especially am impressed with the Roamio.

 

[Mr Tony]

The Roamio is a nice unit.

 

[king3pj]

Yep, In addition to my cable duties it's also my #1 streaming device. I use it regularly for Netflix, Amazon, MLB.tv, Hulu Plus, and occasionally for Youtube.

 

[foghorn2]

The Roamio is a nice unit.

Thats what Juliette said.